Archive for September, 2008

UPDATE: Although not on track, I spotted Will Power today on the viewing mounds and in the IMS museum. Props go out to Will for coming out to the track to watch a little IRL testing.

UPDATE: As Nick wrote in the comments section, Buddy Rice was out today in his new sponsorship with Dads Root Beer. Also on the track today have been Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon.

So far Dixon, Kanaan & Briscoe have all been on track. Briscoe has ran the most laps followed by Dixon & Kanaan. Hunter-Reay and Wheldon were on the track yesterday, however I have yet to see Buddy Rice in his new “Dads Root Beer” sponsored ride.

More Photos can be seen in the “Indycar IMS Test” page on the right side of your screen

As you can tell by the photos, Dixon by far ran the most laps in the second half of testing, followed by Hunter-Reay , Wheldon & Briscoe. The photos of Wheldon are some of the first published in his new Panther Racing ride.

UPDATE 3:13: Dixon, Hunter-Reay, and Wheldon have all been on track without incident

UPDATE 2:26: Track is green, Wheldon & Hunter-Reay are on track

UDATE 2:15: Trucks are off, and track seems to be dry although there is a stiff wind, but no cars on yet.

Stay tuned Monday and Tuesday (29th & 30th) for Live Coverage from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with scanner, Laptop and camera, in hand, posting images and news as it breaks from the track. Driving down 16th street, passing Gate 2 of the speedway (parallel to the 1st turn short shoute), then getting stuck in traffic at 16th and Georegtown the last couple days on my way from school and hearing the awful, rumbling and grinding of the much needed Cabcar tire testing has just about (no pun intended) driven me up the wall. So, if you havent yet noticed, I was completely pumped when I first heard the news as reported by Curt Cavin, that 6 Indycar drivers including Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ryan Briscoe, 2004 Indy 500 Champion Buddy Rice, 2005 Indy 500 Champion Dan Wheldon and 2008 Indy 500 Champion Scott Dixon, will all be testing there always reliable Firestone Firehawks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

UPDATE: You can watch the tire test by entering gate 2 and parking in the Museum parking lot. The Turn 2 viewing mounds and turn 1short shoute infield stands are open to the public with no cost. The Dallara’s take the track at 9am and take lunch at noon. They get back to work at 1pm and wrap up the day at 5pm on both Monday and Tuesday.

Some sad news to pass along, according to cnn, Paul Newman has passed away at his home in Connecticut on Friday. The 83 year old Actor & Director has won 2 Golden globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Emmy, an Academy Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. Newman also founded “Newman’s Own”, a food company that donates all profits to charity and as of May 07′, the donations have exceeded 220 million dollars. With most of his major films (Exodus, The Hustler, Hud, Harper, and Slap Shot) taking place well before my time, I best know him as a “Indy style” team owner. Since the start of his race team in 1983 many talented drivers have driven for him including: Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal, Sebastien Bourdais, Bruno Junqueira, Oriol Servia, Christiano da Matta, Christian Fittipaldi, Michael Andretti, Mario Andretti, Roberto Moreno, Paul Tracy, Nigel Mansell, Teo Fabi and Alan Jones, combining for 8 Championships. Paul found his love of racing while training for the film Winning, saying “the first thing that I ever found I had any grace in.” As a driver, Paul ran in the 79′ 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 2nd. At the age of 70 in 1995, he became the oldest driver to win a major sanctioned race, being the 24 Hours of Daytona. RIP Paul

“On behalf of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, my wife Bernadette and myself, I want to express our most sincere condolences to Joanne and the entire Newman family on the loss of a great human being. Paul and I have been partners for 26 years and I have come to know his passion, humor and above all, his generosity. Not just economic generosity, but generosity of spirit. His support of the team’s drivers, crew and the racing industry is legendary. His pure joy at winning a pole position or winning a race exemplified the spirit he brought to his life and to all those that knew him. We will truly miss him.”

- Carl A. Haas, co-owner of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

“We truly lost a great man. Most of us knew him as Butch or Fast Eddie from the theater or from our living rooms at home. He was much more than a great actor. His legacy will be his five children, his wife, Joanne and all the sick children around the world who desperately needed his help. Paul was a man of character who cared about the world and the people who lived in it. Putting a smile on a young person’s face and helping people in need was a virtue he excelled at. Little did anyone realize a child born of such humble beginnings could affect our lives in so many positive ways. We should all learn to live by his example. We will miss him dearly but will never forget him.”